Susanna Farms

Lake Villa

In a Nutshell

50-acre working farm complete with overflowing pumpkin patches, friendly livestock, a corn maze, and hayrides around the grounds

The Fine Print

Promotional value expires Oct 26, 2014. Amount paid never expires.Limit 1 per person. Limit 1 per visit. Valid only for option purchased. All goods or services must be used by the same person. Not valid with any other offers.Merchant is solely responsible to purchasers for the care and quality of the advertised goods and services.

Susanna Farms

When SJ and May O'Bryan purchased 300 acres of northern Illinois farmland in the 1930s, they saw it as a refuge where they and their five children could occasionally escape the bustle of life in Chicago. Memories of summers spent on the farms stuck with Betty—SJ and May's second-oldest daughter—so strongly that after her parents willed 50 acres of land to each of their children, she and her husband Dan decided to continue the farm's legacy by opening their parcel to the public. Today, Betty and Dan ensure that Susanna Farms remains a family affair, enlisting the help of their numerous children and grandchildren as they plant and maintain the pumpkin fields and prepare for October's Fall Festival. The farm is also open for special events throughout the year, and on weekends during the Fall Festival.

In keeping with the O'Bryans' original vision, Susanna Farms still provides a year-round, provincial escape for crowds seeking a break from daily routines. The acres teem with homegrown pumpkins, colorful mums, and bundled cornstalks as well as big-horned Scottish Highland cattle, quarter horses, miniature donkeys, Shetland sheep, and other farm animals. From atop an antique, crank-start tractor, visitors can take a hayride to see the pumpkin patches and the surrounding woods. Once the corn reaches a suitable height, the family works together to design a maze that challenges visitors' ability to eat their way out of a labyrinth.

During horseback-riding lessons, adults and children ride through a grassy corral on purebred rescue horses, many of which have sustained and recovered from injuries that prevent them from competing as show horses. For example, Lady, a quarter horse, has been shown in dressage and hunter jumper events, but after healing from an injury, provides beginning lessons to students of all ages.